One of my favorite childhood TV shows was Benson, a spinoff of Soap, about a butler named Benson DuBois who becomes the governor’s household manager, then the state budget director, then the liuetenant governor, and ends the series after eight years by running for governor himself — against his friend and employer, as it turns out. Insult comics like Don Rickles and Henny Youngman has always seemed to me to practice an inferior form of humor, even when they actually make me laugh. But Benson ratcheted up the insults to an easily delightful art. Since it started running on TV Land in recent months, I’ve set the TiVo to pick up episodes, which I often play in the background while I’m up all night working on freelance projects.

Being set against a political backdrop, the show often revolved around political matters — with a decidedly leftist/populist take on how good government programs help people. They rarely went into specifics on just what these programs were, but the slant was obvious all the same. A few weeks ago, though, the show surprised me with a moment of political clarity, which I transcribed and now post here.

This particular episode revolved around a surprise state budget surplus. The feds promised to match that money the following year if they splurged and spent the entire surplus on something from a list of various approved programs. Insane ideas like building a four-block-long monorail were seriously suggested by some of the governor’s staff. Even though it would have been entirely useless, it was one of the few ideas they’d come up with that fit the feds’ list of acceptability. In the end, the governor left the decision to Benson, and asked him to announce what they were spending the money on at a press conference that had been called to announce the spending decision, and to celebrate the extra cash they’d be able to grab the following year as a result. Here’s what Benson said:

Now . . . as most of you must know by now, I suppose, we have $8 million left over in the budget this year. Now, the federal government wants us to spend that money on things we don’t really need, so they can give us another $8 million next year. Now, if you ask me, that’s pretty damn silly. But, more importantly, it’s wasteful. And you know who pays for that waste — not the federal government, not the state goverment, but we, the taxpayers, pay for that. Now, the point is, it’s our money. Government’s got to learn to stop spending money just for the sake of spending money. Somebody’s got to start putting the brakes on. And this is as good a place as any to start. So we’re gonna do something that’s a little . . . off the beaten track. A little revolutionary. We’re gonna put the money in the bank. The federal government can keep its $8 million. And maybe you’ll be able to keep a little money in your pocket too, huh? Where I’m sure we could all use it. That’s my decision.

Populist good-government idealism or no, it’s a shame more politicians don’t have this kind of integrity.